For many years the BBC had a tradition of showing a dramatisation of a classic ghost story at Christmas. This tradition is being continued this year with
Whistle and I'll Come to You being shown tonight staring John Hurt. An adaptation of the same classic
MR James story was shown in 1968 staring Michael Hordern beginning the tradition (
1,
2,
3).
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posted by fearfulsymmetry
on Dec 24, 2010 -
22 comments
The house in Amityville with the fan-shaped windows making an inhuman face is the
Godzilla of haunted house movies. The town and current owner of the house where the DeFeo family was murdered try to
downplay (registration required) its signficance. The trademark windows in the original have been replaced to disguise its identity, and lawsuits force studios to use a house-double. Although latest remake claims the status of "true story," the case has been widely dismissed as a
hoax and the 2005 film has even rased the ire of
George Lutz for how he is portrayed as the haunted father-figure. Other people involved in the case including convicted murder DeFeo are
unhappy with the new attention. Still, the story has its
true believers and
psychics who argue the debunkers have their own agenda. Then again,
Texas Chainsaw Massacre was also claimed by the same production company to be "inspired by a true story."
posted by KirkJobSluder
on Apr 15, 2005 -
12 comments
Literary Gothic offers up a splendid smorgasboard of literary ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and, of course, gothic. As a Victorianist, I have a particular predilection for their
ghost stories. Many more Victorian tales of the terrifying--and just plain weird--can be found
at this site, which also features an ongoing reading group. [more inside]
posted by thomas j wise
on Oct 31, 2002 -
8 comments